 Ryan Miller, from left, Courtney Buchanan and Emma Walker, members of the Auglaize Leaders of Tomorrow 4-H club clip coupons to send to military families. Staff photo/Karen Campbell By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
Gathered around a table, holding scissors until their small hands ache, young 4-H members do their part for the country.
They are clipping coupons for soldiers and military families.
Members of the Auglaize Leaders of Tomorrow 4-H Club are hoping to clip at least 5,000 coupons from newspapers and fliers. So far, the 24 club members have clipped 3,904 coupons and are still cutting.
“I think we can help a lot,” Emma Walker said. “It feels good to do something for someone else. They’re basically saving our lives and we’re saving them money.”
The idea came from an “American Profile” article featuring 83-year-old Kay MacVey of Ames, Iowa, who in 2006 started a group of devoted volunteers who clip coupons for the military. Started as an American Legion Auxiliary service project, MacVey was hoping to mail more than $1 million in coupons to commissaries in Germany, Japan, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands and South Korea, where U.S. military families could redeem them to save money on groceries.
With the help of groups and individuals across the country, MacVey now has an even higher goal to collect $3 million in coupons to send to help soldiers lower their grocery bills.
Coupon availability is virtually non-existent on the bases.
MacVey, whose husband served during World War II, brother served in Korea and son served in Vietnam, started by collecting and clipping and then sending the coupons by the shoebox full to commissaries abroad.
As others heard of her efforts, they began to volunteer, too, from church congregations to nursing home residents and school groups. As newspaper articles have recounted MacVey’s efforts, she is receiving coupons from people in 38 states and receives approximately eight packages a day to mail to the soldiers.
The community service project is one the local 4-H members have embraced, working on it not only regularly at meetings, but taking coupons home and clipping there.
Advisers Julie Koch and Ashley Shaw said it is something ongoing that the members, age kindergarten to seniors in high school, can do relatively easily a little bit at a time.
She said it was always difficult to plan a community service event that everyone could take part in, but this way they all could participate at their own convenience.
“Even if we’re doing something else, we can do this, too,” Emma said.
She said she looks at coupons differently. Whereas before her family might throw the ones away that they didn’t plan on using, now they can clip them and help someone else.
“Even if they’re just saving 60 cents, every little bit adds up,” Emma said.
They started clipping in March and plan to continue until they turn their projects in for the Auglaize County Fair in August.
“It makes you think a little bit,” Ryan Miller said. “It makes you think about helping a whole lot of people.
“We want them to be able to go out and shop for what they need and save some money,” he said. “I think this could save them a lot of money and knowing we helped with that, it feels good.”
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